With You
by maryfic
Summary: People have wanted a piece of Harry Potter since before he was born. But he's got a Slytherin in his corner, and Snape's always been a fighter. Features Manipulative!Dumbledore, Marauders that have matured (somewhat, for a minute), and a part of the wizarding world we never got to see - childhood.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own any part of Harry Potter. I do, however, own any places or things you do not recognize._

 _A/N: Please leave all questions in a review and I will answer them as I can while remaining spoiler free for future chapters. The prologue and first several chapters are short set up pieces, so bear with me. I will try to post a new chapter as often as I can. No, this will not be a Severitis story per se, although you will find elements of such here._

 _Finally, I will warn for any unusual content. This story is rated T and I do not intend for it to become M at all._

 **Prologue - 1980 - Paris, France**

It was late fall of 1980 when the unfamiliar owl brought him the parchment sealed with the Potter crest. The weather had just turned from Indian summer to crisp harvest, and he was looking forward to the Christmas holidays with relief. His second year at the Academie de Potions in Paris was more strenuous than the first as he approached the final six months of his apprenticeship and mastery the following summer.

Idly, he fed the owl a piece of sausage from his plate that had not been dipped in maple syrup as he read the missive, his face losing its usual emotionless features and cycling through curiosity, puzzlement, and finally settling into a frown. He rose and crumpled the parchment, throwing it in the fireplace before reaching for the box of floo powder on the mantel.

"Godric's Hollow, password fire drake!" Severus said clearly, then stepped into the green flames and whirled away. He stepped out of the fireplace on the other end and spelled his robes free of ash before moving into the house from the library. He headed towards the sound of voices and found himself in the kitchen, along with Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius, all having the sort of argument you usually saw at family dinners after too much wine and fire whiskey.

Severus leaned casually against the doorframe and waited for the inevitable to happen. Within minutes, Lily had whipped out her wand and the oldest Black son was sported a donkey head as a loud bray echoed through the room. James cracked up and Remus threw up his hands as Lily finally noticed him. "Thank god, a voice of reason!" She exclaimed. Sirius let out a snorting bray and she point her wand threateningly. He settled down and James sat down at the table, wiping tears from his eyes. "Never gets old, Lils."

"You watch yourself, or you'll be the next ass around her, Prongs," Remus said. He lifted his coffee cup in salute to Severus, who nodded in response. "Now, can we finally discuss this rationally, please?"

"Yes, and what is *this", precisely," Severus drawled. He moved around the kitchen easily, finding a cup and filling it with the strong tea James liked, using his wand to raise the temperature from lukewarm to scalding.

"Lily's pregnant, Dumbledore's an idiot, and Sirius isn't far behind," Remus summed things up for him without giving him any real information.

Only his own sense of self-preservation kept Severus from spitting tea everywhere and instead offering congratulations to his best friend and, well, woman he'd lost to Potter, though it had never been a contest, Lily had always preferred the romantic attentions of James and that was fine, he told himself. With repeated use he was sure the words would become belief. Eventually.

A long day followed in which official godparent papers were filed for the future Potter heir, The three marauders learned more about what idiocy Dumbledore was peddling, and Severus's headache grew with each passing hour. Around sunset he took his leave, weary of prophecy and old friends and most of all, the idea that his magic was now tied to the well-being of James Potter's son or daughter. It didn't matter that Lily was the child's mother...he had just given up a small piece of himself to protect what would, inevitably, mean more to her than friend or mate.

 _tbc..._


	2. Chapter One

_Chapter One_

Severus had been an idiot when he joined up with Voldemort. He'd known that since the minute the brand appeared on his arm. Regret pooled in his mind behind strong Occlumency shields, and when Lucius came to him a year after his graduation from Hogwarts to confess that his father had pressured him into joining the cause and now, with Abraxas' death and his new lordship of Malfoy, he'd begun to see what Severus had known right away, or nearly so.

Voldemort was truly insane, and the idea of eliminating the only thing that kept the magical community from extinguishing itself in a generation or two was not only proof of his insanity, but terrifying that he could make other pure bloods believe it and fly the banner of dirty blood.

Inbreeding had become a problem in the last hundred years in the wizarding community, nearly every single pure blood family was related to each other, and some of the worst cases - the Lestranges, and some of the Blacks - had proven that without diluting the bloodline, terrible things could happen.

Of course Bellatrix was a favorite of the former Tom Riddle's; she held his ear and hand when no one else in the inner circle could get close. But now she had whispered poison that affected more than just a few muggles and muggleborns that could be spared with a bit of effort.

Now the word prophecy was being whispered among the Death Eaters, and the elite were called to Little Hangleton one rainy Spring night in 1981. Severus apparated from Malfoy Manor, where he'd been discussing things other than the Dark Lord with his friend, and they arrived seconds apart before breaching the wards and walking up the long, muddy, hill path.

Spells kept their robes and masks dry until they entered the hall - and the ward they walked through stripped them of all spells - Voldemort was paranoid and had a right to be, in his mind.

Lucius cast a renewed warming charm on them both as they mounted the stairs to the top of the house, fire flickering on the walls guided them past the solid mass of Nagini in the hallway, feasting on something neither of them wanted to think about. They took their places in the line before Voldemort and waited for the others to arrive and the meeting to begin.

Punctuality was valued and there were no late-comers. Voldemort opened with a pleased smile for a change, his wand nowhere in sight. More than one of his followers were very happy with that sight but they showed nothing in their stance.

"My dear, dear, Death Eaters. I have called you together tonight for a singular purpose. Murder most foul," he began, laughing darkly. Bella grinned beside him. She was very eager to commit murder for her lord. "Something has come to my ears recently, a prophecy, made by a true seer, a descendant of the Great Seer Cassandra. In such words of wisdom, she spake that there would come one, a child, who could defeat me, ME! The greatest wizard the world has every known!" He waited for the obligatory negative comments from his minions and they all obliged him quickly, nay saying the prophecy and casting dark aspersions on the speaker.

A hand stopped them. "However. We do not take chances. We are careful. We make plans, within plans. We will find this so called Child of Prophecy and destroy him."

Severus glanced at Lucius' hand. It was curled in the way that meant "talk later" and he nodded unobtrusively. The other Death Eaters broke into raucous noise and Voldemort let them celebrate for a moment before drawing them back in.

"The first Death Eater to kill either child will be elevated to my left hand - to share pride of place with Bellatrix, the most loyal of all of you. Bring me Harry Potter or Neville Longbottom and you will be made my second in command, better than your fellows, and perhaps even special...to Bella." The insane witch smiled at all of them and suddenly the Black beauty was dazzling and it didn't matter how psychotic she was. All the Wizards cared about was a warm, soft body - willing or not. And Bellatrix Black was a definite prize they all wanted to win.

tbc...


End file.
